Blushing — Restaurant in Amsterdam

Our recent visit to Blushing for a morning coffee and breakfast turned out to be a frustrating experience, largely due to the disappointing behavior of the staff. While the café boasts a modern ambience and offers a wide range of menu options, the service we received was far from what one would expect from a place that claims to prioritize customer well-being.

From the start, the female staff member who attended to us seemed rushed and impatient. Instead of giving us the time and attention to make our choices, she appeared to be pushing us to hurry, which created an uncomfortable atmosphere. It's essential for staff to understand that customers have every right to take their time, especially when they're paying for a service. Her dismissive attitude did not set the right tone for our visit.

Our meal included a Lungo coffee, a Cappuccino, banana bread, and cheesecake. When I inquired whether the banana bread was made with oats, the server acted as if she didn’t understand, which felt like an attempt to avoid the question rather than provide helpful information. This kind of behavior from staff members is unacceptable; they should be knowledgeable about the menu and responsive to customer inquiries.

After we finished, the male staff member’s behavior was equally troubling. When we approached the counter to pay, he completely ignored us, raising a finger without looking up and telling us to wait while he continued to take orders from others. This lack of basic courtesy was both unprofessional and insulting.

The experience worsened when we finally attempted to pay. The female server, still preoccupied with her coins, handed me the payment terminal without a word. It was only when the payment didn’t go through that she informed me I needed to select a tip amount first. This felt like a scam—pressuring customers to leave a tip despite the poor service. Tips should be earned through excellent service and a polite, engaging interaction with customers, not extracted through manipulative tactics.

Overall, this visit to Blushing left us deeply disappointed. The staff’s behavior needs significant improvement—they should not take customers for granted, and they must recognize that polite and attentive service is crucial to ensuring a positive experience. Scamming customers for tips through rude behavior is unacceptable, and we hope the management takes note and implements the necessary changes. We certainly did not expect such a start to our day, and it’s unfortunate that a place with such potential left us with such a...

Water should be free? But it's not. No tap water but it's only a life essential, who cares? Let's start with the food, don't go for the food. We got sweet waffles and savoury waffles, the waffles tasted shop bought, dry and hard. We are from England so you would think we had worse. Moving on to the missing items or faulty items- you would think a basic culinary business would know better, such as ordering poached eggs and getting hard boiled instead (first time having poached egg and ruined the experience). The sweet waffles were supposed to include icing sugar but that was missed out, I guess we could just put that to negligence, at this point this might just be acceptable. We also ordered a breakfast wrap, let me be nice, the eggs were "good" direct quote from my very kind friend, although I guess that was not me being nice but her, oh well I tried. Now the bad, I will say this is from both of us, the wrap was mostly rocket (60% ish) and the pesto was a few drops on the plate (artistic license?). That was the food. I will try it keep it short and simple about the service because they sure did. That's all I'll say about that, if you have kept reading this I hope this has been helpful or at least enjoyable because the food won't be. Please see pictures of the food for reference.

Overall, the atmosphere and decor were gorgous (see i can be nice), so if terrible overpriced food but instagramable cafe is your thing this is the place for you (maybe i can't be nice)

End note: At least...

If you’ve ever wondered what it feels like to be an afterthought in a room full of dry toast, flavourless food and “brunch” decor that reminds you why you hate brunch, look no further than Blushing. I had the pleasure of being doused in a ginger shot - not by choice, mind you, but courtesy of the staff. They spilled it over my lap (with the intention of the table, I suppose), with all the urgency of someone setting a gentle forest fire, and then proceeded to handle the situation with all the finesse of a damp napkin (literally what they used to clean the table before they offered to help me). Two tissues were offered. Two. I wasn’t cleaning my glasses; I was mopping my trousers.

No apology. No fresh chair. No acknowledgement that I, a human person, was now marinated in root juice. What I did receive was a steady stream of food and drinks shoved in my direction, as if to suggest that the best remedy for being soaked in a sticky substance is more objects to juggle.

And yes, they charged for the ginger shot. Naturally. Perhaps I should be grateful it wasn’t added as a performance fee for audience participation (that was covered why my idiots boyfriend decided to tip).

To complete the experience, they gave me a regular Coke when I asked for Diet. Because at that point, why not?

In conclusion: Blushing is a place that manages to spill things on you and make...